U.S. 281 is reopened earlier than expected

By Jeremy Roebuck :
August 24, 2013
: Updated: August 25, 2013 8:53am

Part of the Henderson Pass bridge was damaged when an 18-wheeler slammed into it Aug. 14. Repairs were completed a day and a half ahead of schedule, and all lanes of U.S. 281 were reopened Saturday.

Photo By Billy Calzada/San Antonio Express-News

Traffic flows north on U.S. 281 at Henderson Pass on Saturday, August 24, 2013.

Photo By John Davenport / San Antonio Express-News

The southbound lanes of U.S. 281 near Loop 1604 were closed for more than a day after a trailer owned by B&E Transport slammed into the bottom of the Henderson Pass overpass.

Photo By JOHN DAVENPORT/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

Repairs continue Friday August 16, 2013 on the Henderson Pass bridge over U.S. Highway 281 southbound after a truck hit the overpass Wednesday August 14, 2013. Southbound 281 near 1604 is closed and detoured until the repair work is finished. The northbound lanes that connect to 1604 are also closed.

Photo By JOHN DAVENPORT/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

Repairs continue Friday August 16, 2013 on the Henderson Pass bridge over U.S. Highway 281 southbound after a truck hit the overpass Wednesday August 14, 2013. Southbound 281 near 1604 is closed and detoured until the repair work is finished. The northbound lanes that connect to 1604 are also closed.

Photo By Edward A. Ornelas / San Antonio Express-News

Repairs continue on the Henderson Pass overpass. The clearance sign has been damaged — there is room for a vehicle 16 feet, 11 inches high. The southbound lanes of U.S. 281 are expected to remain closed until tonight.

Photo By Edward A. Ornelas/San Antonio Express-News

Workers repair the Henderson Pass bridge at U.S. 281 after a southbound 18-wheeler slammed into the overpass Wednesday afternoon. The southbound lanes on 281 headed toward downtown are closed at Henderson Pass and the northbound exit ramp onto Loop 1604 from 281 also is shut.

Photo By Edward A. Ornelas/San Antonio Express-News

Workers repair the Henderson Pass bridge at U.S. 281 after a southbound 18-wheeler slammed into the overpass Wednesday afternoon. The southbound lanes on 281 headed toward downtown are closed at Henderson Pass and the northbound exit ramp onto Loop 1604 from 281 also is shut.

Photo By Edward A. Ornelas/San Antonio Express-News

Workers repair the Henderson Pass bridge at U.S. 281 after a southbound 18-wheeler slammed into the overpass Wednesday afternoon. The southbound lanes on 281 headed toward downtown are closed at Henderson Pass and the northbound exit ramp onto Loop 1604 from 281 also is shut.

Photo By Edward A. Ornelas/San Antonio Express-News

Workers repair the Henderson Pass bridge at U.S. 281 after a southbound 18-wheeler slammed into the overpass Wednesday afternoon. The southbound lanes on 281 headed toward downtown are closed at Henderson Pass and the northbound exit ramp onto Loop 1604 from 281 also is shut.

Photo By John Davenport/Express-News

Northbound traffic on U.S. highway 281 stacks up as the southbound lanes of U.S. Highway 281 near Loop 1604 are closed after a tractor trailer rig struck the Henderson Pass overpass about noon Wednesday August 14, 2013. San Antonio Fire Department spokesman Christian Bove said one person at the location refused to be transported to the hospital.

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Repair crews finished working on a Northside stretch of U.S. 281 near Loop 1604 on Saturday afternoon and reopened the highway a day and a half ahead of schedule.

Despite earlier warnings of a potential traffic nightmare at the busy interchange, drivers throughout the day largely heeded advice to avoid the area.

“We're running way ahead of schedule here,” said Josh Donat, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Transportation, just before 4 p.m., when traffic resumed on all northbound and southbound lanes. “I'd credit the community at large for following our warnings to find alternate routes.”

Originally, TxDOT planned a complete shutdown of the highway between Donella Drive and Loop 1604 through 5 a.m. Monday to remove a portion of the Henderson Pass bridge damaged when an 18-wheeler slammed into it Aug. 14.

From the time crews first put out their barriers Friday evening through the height of Saturday traffic, congestion remained relatively light. At its worst Saturday morning, the northbound bumper-to-bumper traffic stretched less than 3 miles to the Bitters Road exit. On the southbound side, vehicles were diverted off the highway with little to no delay.

Charlotte Harris, 38, eyed the steady crawl of cars Saturday from the safe perch of a snow cone stand outside a nearby H-E-B.

She had steeled herself for what she expected to be a frustrating trip from her house nearby to the grocery store, remembering when less than a year ago frequent bouts of construction kept roads in the area in a near-permanent clogged state.

“But this isn't bad at all,” she said Saturday. “I thought this was supposed to be a lot worse.”

Nearby shops including Alamo Toyota and Bill Miller Bar-B-Q, both near the intersection of 281 and Loop 1604, reported no negative effects on business.

Texas Department of Transportation officials said Saturday's repair work was expected to cost $249,000, which will be recouped from those deemed responsible for the damage.